Today, many surgical procedures are performed through small incisions in the skin, as compared to the larger incisions typically required in traditional procedures, in an effort to reduce both trauma to the patient and recovery time. Generally, such procedures are referred to as “endoscopic”, unless performed on the patient's abdomen, in which case the procedure is referred to as “laparoscopic”. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “minimally invasive” should be understood to encompass both endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures.
During a typical minimally invasive procedure, surgical objects, such as surgical access devices, e.g., trocar and cannula assemblies, or endoscopes, are inserted into the patient's body through the incision in tissue. In general, prior to the introduction of the surgical object into the patient's body, insufflation gasses are used to enlarge the area surrounding the target surgical site to create a larger, more accessible work area. Accordingly, the maintenance of a substantially fluid-tight seal is desirable so as to inhibit the escape of the insufflation gases and the deflation or collapse of the enlarged surgical site.
To this end, various valves and seals are used during the course of minimally invasive procedures and are widely known in the art. However, a continuing need exists for a seal anchor member that can be inserted directly into the incision in tissue and that can accommodate a variety of surgical objects while maintaining the integrity of an insufflated workspace.
Further, the insufflation gases may become contaminated in the course of a surgery by the incidental byproducts of a procedure such as smoke or moisture. If the contaminated insufflation gases are released from the patient's body into the extra-corporeal environment, i.e. the operating room, the contaminated insufflation gases may then interfere with the surgeon's line of sight as well as contaminate the operating environment, in turn, adversely affecting the normal operation of the surgical procedure. Solutions to this problem known in the art involve the use of valves, stopcocks, and additional tubing to purify or replace the contaminated insufflation gases.